| Agriculture - agricultural production is the basis for economic development of the district;
- agricultural lands are contaminated with 137Cs and 90Sr;
- soils of agricultural lands are characterised by low fertility which causes intensive radionuclide transfer from soil to plants;
- it is noticed that the content of radionuclides in agricultural products (especially in milk in the private sector) is higher than the admissible levels;
- productivity of agricultural land and animals is low, as a result of non-compliance with the production technology;
- low level of knowledge of the population on peculiarities of agricultural production under the contamination conditions;
- lack of qualified personnel in agricultural enterprises;
- the number of non-working-age people (pensioners and children) is higher than the number of working-age people;
- a lot of thinly peopled communities;
- isolated private farms specialising in a variety of agricultural production;
- there is every prerequisite in the district to raise the level of the rural life provided investments are made in industry and agricultural processing.
Health care - poor basis for rendering primary health care:
a) village medical institutions are located on unsuitable premises, which do not meet their purpose (not enough rooms for all doctors, including rooms for "in-patient daily care") and all of them require either major overhaul or renovation; b) equipment is outdated, obsolescent or missing altogether (e.g. dental, physiotherapeutic, laboratory, special layers for rendering urgent aid to patients, weights, height meters, etc.); c) drugstores are not provided with medicines affordable to the population; expensive ones would not sell. - lack of qualified specialists (especially doctors).
- demographic indices show a sharp reduction of birth rate during the recent years, stabilization of the mortality level, negative indices of natural population growth, high infant mortality. The increase in general and primary illnesses is observed for all classes of illnesses;
- low level of knowledge of medical personnel on radiation safety issues;
- the number of 'at-risk' families, in which children and other family members are in need of social, medical and psychological assistance, is growing;
- low level of radiological and sanitary awareness among the population;
- existing system of recuperation of children requires improvement
- quality of medical rehabilitation and health improvement conditions are different across the country, sometimes unsatisfactory for children, parents and health professionals of the district.
Education - small number of children in classrooms despite the fact that children are brought to school from the adjacent villages. A high share of teachers, coming to work from the district centre as well as young graduates of higher educational institutions, sent according to the circulation lists who do not possess enough experience, normally working less than 2 years;
- inadequate material and technical school base: limited financial resources for the provision of adequate meals to children, acquisition of modern educational and methodological guidebooks and computers;
- low level of sanitary and hygienic conditions: absence of restrooms and shower rooms on premises of certain schools, presence of oven heating only, need of urgent repair in many schools;
- ban on school work at the school plots and field work makes vocational education complicated and develops 'consumer' attitude;
- poor development of youth leisure, unsatisfactory work of village clubs, absence of video and audio equipment affecting the general culture level.
Economy and enterprise initiative - 24 communities have been relocated and 4 agricultural companies closed down;
- due to a mass relocation of people to safer places, the district feels an imperative need in qualified specialists, especially in agriculture;
- business initiatives are expressed mainly by heads and specialists with respect to working enterprises;
- economic situation of the working enterprises, especially agricultural, is very complicated due to low marketability of the products, outdated equipment and technologies, as well as unfavourable macroeconomic conditions, etc.;
- both agricultural and industrial production is oriented to the internal district market with few exceptions;
- private business is focused primarily on trade and procurement, however entrepreneurs are ready to invest into production in the future, should the economic environment change;
- heads of enterprises and representatives of district authorities are eager to cooperate with any investor (at present, they try to cooperate mainly with Russian investors) on a mutually beneficial basis;
- difficulties with selling the produce (small amounts with long market distances, no information on prices of the day, no marketing, etc.) do not stimulate development of trade industry in private households;
- loan problems high interest rate (14-16%), unwillingness of the banks to give long-term credits because of the absence of marketable property used as a collateral, etc.
- resources of the district budget are 'diffused' because of a large number of thinly populated settlements where at least minimum living conditions need to be created and maintained (shops, medical assistance, education, transport, etc).
|
